Apparatus for bending metal



Oct. 3, 1944.

Fig.1

D. KELLEH ER 2,359,650

APPARATUS FOR BENDING METAL I Filed No 21; 1942 :s Sheets-Sheet 1 F EE-J ll I 9;

Fig. 41

IN VEN TOR.

Patented Oct. 3, 1944 APPARATUS FOR BENDING METAL Daniel Kellehe r, Strongsville, Ohio, assignor to The American Coach & Body Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 21, 1942, Serial No. 466,421

Claims. (01. 15376) This invention pertains to an apparatus for making alternate ridges and grooves in .sheet metal plates and in regular formation with substantial parallelism. I

Where a plate is to be corrugated of relatively heavy sheet material, particularly where the corrugations comprise angular ridges and grooves, considerable difiiculty has been experienced in making a large number of corrugations simultaneously, because the metal is stretched to an objectionable degree, even to the extent of being torn apart. 7

An object of the present invention is to provide for making corrugations which will not damage the material of which the sheet is made, and

which will not require an expensive die for forming the corrugations. Additionally, an object is to utilize an apparatus by means of which the corrugations are made progressively whereby the material is bent only suflicientlyto make one corrugation at a time.

The invention contemplates means whereby a machine known as 'a brake can be utilized for making successive corrugations across the face of a sheet, and includes mechanism by means of whichone corrugation acts asa pilot .for automatically clamping the sheet in position for making succeeding corrugations. This assures absolute uniformity and parallelism of the respective ridges and grooves.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front View of a machine designated as a brake in which my invention may be practiced; Fig. 2 is an end View of the machine showing a portion of the control mechanism; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the plane designated by the line 3-3 in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a front view showing the footoperated pedal which is used with the control mechanism; Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on a scale larger than that shown in Fig. 1 and illustrates the first step in the preferred method of forming the corrugations; Fig. 6 is a sectional view similar to a portion of that of Fig. 5 and illustrates the beginning of the second step; Fig. 7 is a vertical section similar to that shown in Fig. 5 but illustrates a further step in the formation of the second corrugation; Fig. 8 is a vertical section showing the completion of the step which is indicated in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a plate showing the finished corrugations; and Fig. 10 is a section view through a modified arrangement by means of which the plurality of corrugations can be made progressively during a single reciprocation of the ram..

In Fig. 1, I have shown a machine commonly designated as a brake which has a base or stationary press head II], a frame .I l, and a ram or movable press head l2. Preferably, the movable head'carries a single die [3, while the stationary head carries a plurality of dies, one indicated at M as being relatively stationary, and another designated at l5 as being relatively movable. The present invention is illustrated as having dies formed to make a corrugated sheet such as that shown in Fig. 9, and the invention embodies an efficient mechanism which will permit the formation of one corrugation and the utilization of it as a pilot to position the sheet for the formation of a succeeding corrugation,

The sheet illustrated in Fig. 9 has regularly formed ridges A and depressions B which are uniformly spaced, and are disposed in parallelism in any desired number across the sheet. The sheet is illustrated as being rectangular in form, but that is not material so far ascarrying out the process isconcerned. Any shape may be utilized for obtaining the desired result.

The apparatus uttilized for carrying out the present invention is shown in preferred form in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, whereinthe upper die (Fig. 5) has grooves I31: and l3b therein, and wherein the lower die I4 has a projection Ma, the shape of which is complementary to the groove 13a in the upper die. The lower die I5 also has a projection I5a, the shape of which is complementary to the groove l3b in the die [3. The die l5 functions as a pilot die for positioning the plate automatically and clamping it in position preparatory to the formation of the adjacent corrugation as wil1 hereinafter'be set forth in detail. Suitable mechanism is also provided. for automatically effecting the clamping and positioning of the sheet, consequent upon actuation of the mechanism for operating the ram, all as will hereinafter be set out in the following description.

The first step, according to the preferred method, in forming the corrugations is to slide the sheet S,.while it is .held in a horizontal position, between the dies l3 and M, with the forward end 20 thereof disposed beyond the ridge of the projection [4a by a predetermined amount suflicient to form the end wall of the first corrugation. The extent of such inward movement of the sheet is ascertained by means of a gauge that isdisposed on the machine, but not shown herein. It is sufi'i'cient. to say, merely, that the sheet rests only on the projection of the die l4 when the ram is inthe uppermost position as shown in Fig. 5. Thereupon, the ram controlling mechanism is actuated to lower the ram, thus bringing the die I3 downwardly into engagement with the sheet S and then bending it about the ridge of pilot die I5, and the sheet is resting in horizontal position on the projection Ma. Thereupon,

the pilot die is caused to be raised to the position. shown in Fig. 7 until the projection I50 thereon enters the underside'of the first corrugation, and thereby automatically centers it in position for the succeeding corrugation.

While the sheet is held, as shownv in Fig. 7, and, during the upward motion of the pilot die, the ram is lowered, the first contact between the die I3 and the, sheet occurring between :the upper surface of the first corrugation and the walls of the groove I3b. The force utilized 'forv holding the pilot die upwardly is yieldable V and is less than that exerted by'the ram; hence,

.the pilot die is forced downwardly bythe ram until the groove I3a acts upon that portion of the sheet'resting upon the projection I4a, where- .upon the pilot die is moved downwardly under continued motion of the die I3 until the second corrugation is formedas is shown in Fig. -8, making the sheet Sb. Thereafter, the same operation is'repeated with the last formed corrugation being disposed over the pilot .die as shown 'in' Fig. 6 until the desired number of corrugations is formed." i

By clampingone corrugation between the upper die and the pilot die, then as the succeeding corrugation is being formed, the sheet will be drawn inwardly sufficiently to provide adequate material to compensate for the reduction in overall length of the sheet, thereby avoiding any stretching'of the material that would in any way tend to reduce the cross sectional area of it.

' Additionally, the clampingaction automatically holds the sheet in the exact position required for forming the succeeding corrugation, Thus, the

' ,method, permits any number of corrugations to be made'by utilizing one corrugation as an automatic guide for positioning the sheet. 7 The mechanism which is preferred for controlling the operation of the ram and of the pilot die is illustrated as embodying a foot pedal which is disposed. in front of the machine and in aplace that is convenient for'the use of the operator, and which is shown as having arms -3I extending downwardly from the underside thereof and attached to a bracket 32 by'means of a pivot pin 33.. Such Ipivot allows the pedal to be swung about the are indicated by the arrow 34 in Fig. 4. Theend of one, of theari'ns 3| is shown as being tapered to a point for en-. gagement with a spring-like inverted V-shaped member 35 that is yieldable to permit the end of the arm,to pass beyond the ridge thereof,

'but is capable of retaining the arm in the last position in which it was placed with respect to the center of the ridge.

The foot pedal is also capable of being swung V forwardly and backwardly as indicated. by the arrow 36 in Fig. 2, and to' this end the bracket '32 is'shown. as embracing a rod 40 v.which may extendthe entire length of the front end of the machine and .be supported in. bearings M and g 55 in Fig. 4.

42 respectively, adjacent opposite ends of the machine. The rod 40 may have a hexagonal shape between the bearing points, so that the bracket may be disposed in any position thereon and clamped thereto as by means of bolts 45. The rod 40 is illustrated at the right hand. end of Fig. l as being suitably connected to a vertically extending rod 46 which actuates the clutch mechanism for operating the ram in any well known manner. A spring 41 disposed at the side of the machine may be .used as a convenient means for returning the pedal back to its original position after it has been operated to actuate the ram. 7

If desired, the mechanism for actuating'the pilot die may be incorporated in the mechanism for actuating the ram and for such purpose the rod 50 may have adjacent the pedal, a sleeve 5|, rigidly attached thereto, while a stud carried by the sleeve may Iproject laterally through the arm 3I and constitute a pivotal connection therewith. Thus, whenever the pedal, is oscillated in the direction indicated by the'curved arrow 34 in Fig. 4, the rod 50 is moved to the right or to the left as shown by the straight arrow To actuate the pilot mechanism upon operationof the rod 55, theend of the rod 50 opposite the pedal (Figs. 2 and 3) may be slidably mount ed in an opening of an arm 60 that is illustrated as being rigidly attached to a bracket 6|. The bracket may be rigidly secured at .62, as by welding, to a yoke 63, which in turn,may be fastened, as by bolts 64, to the rod 40. The arm 60 also hasan opening for guiding a'pin 65 which is carried by a plate 66 that is rigidly. secured to the end of the rod 50, and has substantially'the same shape as the. plate or arm vIilI. tion of Fig. 3, the pin 65 extends beneath an arm 10 which controls suitable .valve mechanism 'for governing the flow of fluid to two cylinders "II that are disposed near the ends of the pilot die I5, as may best be seen in;Fig. 1. The valve mechanism controlled by the arm 10 may be ofany well known type, there being.

two valvecasings shown at" and" that are so connected to the cylinders that the. casing I2 controls the admission of fluid to the bottom of the cylinder II, as well as. the exhaust therefrom, While the valve 13 controls'the admission of fluid to the top of i the ,cylinderfll, as well as a the exhaust therefrom, the arrangement being such' that fluid is admitted .simultaneouslyto the bottom of each cylinder for raisingthe piston, I5 therein, while fluid ,is being exhausted from the top of each piston so as to facilitate the upward movement thereof. As the pistons travel upwardly, their piston rods 16 move upwardly correspondingly and exert an upward" force against the bases "of tap; rods 18. Nor-1.

is maintained beneath the pistons I5 and at; the

same time the ram' I2 is moving downwardly to form a corrugation. .l Accordingly, the operator maintains the pedal depressed until thecorruga- When the plate 66 is in the. full line posiin Fig.

tion is formed, whereupon he releases it and'allows it to .bereturned automatically! under the force of the .spring 41 to the position shown in Fig. 2. -At suchtime, the fluid is exhausted from the bottom of the pistons and is injected against the top portions thereof.

v I During the downward movement of the pilot die 15 under the force exerted by the upper die I3, the rods 18 and their corresponding pistons are forced downwardly, but inasmuch asthe operator continues to maintain the foot pedal depressed, there is a yielding force pushing upwardly against the die so as to maintain firm contact against both sides of the sheet during the formation of the adjacent corrugation.

Whenever the fixed die I4 is used-for forming the first corrugation, it is not necessary to move the pilot die upwardly, hence, the ram can be operated without moving the pilot die by disengaging the pin 65 from contact with the arm during the oscillating movement of the bar 40. This may be attained by sliding the rod 50 axially to the left in Fig. 1, so that the plate 66 (Fig. 3) assumes the broken line position 66a. In such position the end of the pin 65 is caused to move out of the path of the arm 10, but to remain within the aperture in the plate 60.

While I have described my invention as embodying the step of making an end corrugation and then using that as a pilot for positioning the seat so as to form the succeeding corrugation, I may, if desired, move the sheet in the first instance across the fixed and pilot dies and thereby use the fiuid pressure beneath the pistons to form the first corrugation on the pilot die, and then on the continued downward motion of the ram, to form the second corrugation over the fixed die, so that initially two corrugations are made successively in point of time, but in one reciprocation of the ram. For example, the sheet would be initially positioned as shown at the dotted lines So in Fig. 7. In that modification, it would not be necessary to utilize the disengaging mechanism which is employed where the first corrugation is made on the fixed die.

Where the pilot die is used conjointly with the fixed die for making two corrugations initially, it is not necessary to move the pedal 30 in a way that would disengage the pin 65 from contact with the arm 10, because upon every reciprocation of the ram, the vertical movement of the ber 90 with a source of supply from a conduit 91 1 for increasing fluid under pressure beneath the respective pilot dies, and utilizing shoulders 92 on the dies for limiting upward movement of one with respect to the other. The view shown in Fig. 10 illustrates the sheet Sd as having had the first corrugation made over the fixed die 80 and as being thereafter moved into position for having the succeeding four corrugations progressively formed. In this modification, however, the corrugations are formed progressively as before, one of the corrugations acting as a pilot for positioning the sheet in proper location for the formation of a succeeding corrugation.

An advantage of my-invention is-the fact that any number of corrugations may be quickly made on a machine with a minimum expense for dies, and Without the necessity for. much attention by the operator to position and clamp the sheet in the proper location. Additionally, the invention permits multiple formation of corrugations Without stretching the material, and independently of the overall shape of the sheet that is being corrugated. The invention is thus well adapted for production requirements, and is instrumental in the attainment of an economical procedure as a method of manufacture.

I claim:

1. In a press for forming successive deformations in sheet material, two press heads and means to move them toward each other, fixed dies carried by the heads and adapted to produce a deformation in a sheet, a movable die carried by one head, fluid pressure means to move the last named movable die toward the other head whereby such movable die and the fixed die on the other head may clamp the sheet at a previously formed deformation, as the heads are moved together, and before and during the succeeding deformation by the fixed dies, a valve to control the fluid pressure means having an operating handle, a control shaft, an operating lever for rocking the control shaft to initiate the head moving means, an arm secured to said shaft and having a portion engageable with said valve operating handle, a link between the operating lever and said portion, the operating lever having a freedom of movement in addition to its shaft rocking movement whereby to move the link and thus to maintain said'portion in or out of engagement with the valve handle.

2. In a press for deforming sheet material, two press heads and means to move them to press closing position, dies on the heads, one of which is movable relative to its respective head, fluid pressure means to move the movable die toward the other head in addition to the press closing movement, a rock shaft operable to control the press closing means, an operating lever for rocking the shaft having a pivotal mounting thereon for an additional movement longitudinal of the shaft, a fluid valve controlling said fluid pressure means and having an operating handle, an arm secured to the rock shaft, a pin slidable in the arm and connected to said operating lever, said valve handle being in the path of movement of the pin as the shaft is rocked in or out of such path as determined by the position of the operating lever upon its pivotal mounting, Where by the press closing means may be operated with or without an attendant movement of the movable die.

3. A press having in combination, a stationary press head and a movable press head, a single die carried by the movable press head and having a plurality of faces rigid with each other and a plurality of dies carried by the stationary press head, means for moving the movable press head, fluid actuated means for moving one of the dies on the stationary press head with respect to the other die, and yieldingly maintaining it while projected variable amounts beyond the other die, and a member for selectively actuating the movable press head with or without actuation of the movable die on the stationary press head.

4. An apparatus for forming corrugations in sheet material, comprising a relatively stationmy and a relatively movable lower die disposed V in side-by-side relationship with their crests in horizontal aligmnent, and a movable upper die 'is effected between the sheet and the remaining face of the .upper die, the last-mentioned means operating to permit yielding movement of the movable lower die under the force exerted by the closing movement of the upper die, and a single control for actuating both of said means.

\ 5. An apparatus for forming corrugations in sheet metal having in combination two coacting members, one comprising a bed and-the other a ram reciprocable toward and from the bed, a bracket comprising a base and an upright secured to one of, said members, a relatively stationary die mounted on the base and spaced from the upright and one or morermovable dies between the stationary die and the upright, controlling means for projecting the movable die or dies beyond the stationary die and yielcfingly supporting said projecting die or dies, and a die carried by the other of said members and formed with a plurality of faces to coact respectively. with the stationary die and movable die or dies first-mentioned.

DANIEL KELLEHER. 

